By Tim Hepher
PARIS (Reuters) -Airbus is in the process of finalising delivery of its longest-range single-aisle jet, the A321XLR, to Spanish airline Iberia, industry sources said on Tuesday.
The keenly awaited delivery – the first of a new variant of the best-selling A321 jet – involves a formal handover and transfer of ownership, though the Spanish airline will not officially welcome the plane into its fleet until next month.
The plane is scheduled to depart Hamburg, Germany, where it was assembled, for Madrid at 1500 GMT on Wednesday, just ahead of Airbus’ quarterly earnings announcement, according to departure information posted by FlightRadar24.
An Airbus spokesperson declined comment.
Iberia did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but its parent IAG, which also owns British Airways, said the Spanish airline would hold a ceremony to mark the delivery on Nov. 6.
The delivery, originally due in 2023, will revive industry attention towards a hotly contested part of the market between Airbus and Boeing.
Launched in 2019 to steal a march on Boeing’s plans at the time to build a new jet in the middle of the market, the A321XLR targets a gap left by the out-of-production Boeing 757, where the A321 family outsells the largest versions of the 737 MAX.
The delivery also exemplifies pressure on Boeing to obtain certification for the largest member of its single-aisle family, the 737 MAX 10, delayed by an issue with an anti-ice system. Boeing has said certification timing is a matter for regulators.
The A321XLR is designed to carry out missions previously reserved for wide-body jets, allowing airlines like Iberia to fly deeper into Europe from the United States, for example, without the commercial risk of having to fill a larger plane.
Its design called for a novel type of rear central fuel tank, moulded into the contours of the fuselage, to eke out more space for fuel and extend the range.
But the design raised concerns among regulators about the risk of fire and evacuation times in the event of an accident, prompting changes before it could be certified.
Airbus has said it has sold more than 500 A321XLR jets but does not separate them out from orders for the A321 family.
Boeing has argued the XLR addresses only a small portion of the market for single-aisle jets, the busiest part of the industry, which it pegs at 33,380 aircraft over 20 years.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher, David Latona and Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Jason Neely and Jamie Freed)
